A Commercial My Dad Would Write

I have been writing commercials for 60 years. To do it well takes a lot of hard work. My father never wrote a commercial, but I know one he could write in a heartbeat.

It would be for Taxmasters; for J.K. Harris; for irstaxagreement.com - or whatever they call themselves. You've probably seen their efforts at writing a commercial on TV.

My Dad would write:

"Do you owe thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes? Is the IRS coming to your home or place of business? Are you receiving harassing mail or phone calls? I'll solve your problem in two easy steps, and I will not charge you a cent for using my two-step program!

Step One: Open your checkbook and write a check for the full amount of your taxes.

Step Two: Mail that check to the IRS.

Tax problem solved. No more visits by IRS agents. No more harassing mail or phone calls."

What about the guy who complains that his taxes were unfair or excessive? Dad would agree. He thought we were all taxed excessively and unfairly. But, not paying would necessitate breaking the law and in Dad's world that was never acceptable. First, it was futile. As singer Bobby Fuller pointed out in the lyric of his 1960s song, when he fought the law... the law won!

Second, it was a temporary victory. Wipe out past tax bills, but with that bad law still in place, you'll continue to get unfair or excessive tax bills in the future.

The solution is to change the law. Dad's greatest frustration was with people who incessantly complained about the government, but always voted the same guys back into office.

You'd never do that. Would you?